International Journal of Advanced Academic Research | Sciences, Technology & Engineering | ISSN: 2488-9849 Vol. 4, Issue 10 (October 2018) SMALLHOLDER FARMER’S ADAPTATION STRATEGIES TO DROUGHT IN THE SAHELIAN ZONE OF JIGAWA STATE, NIGERIA Ahmed Abubakar1, Ahmed Ibrahim Maigari2, Samir Shehu Danhassan3, Shehu Idris Umar4, Mukhtar Khalifa Usman5 & Jibrin Gambo6 1Sule Lamido University, Kafin-Hausa, Nigeria. 2,6Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria. 3,4 Jodhpur National University, India. 5Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria. [email protected] +2348032679791 Abstract This study was conducted to understand the rural farming community’s perception of drought, examine the socio-economic and environmental impacts of droughts and to identify and examine the drought coping mechanisms in place by individual households in the area. The study was based on primary and secondary data collected from 1000 farming household’s survey. The data was analysed using IBM SPSS version 20. The results indicate that there was massive failure in terms of crop yield; lack of food and hence less preference or choice due to its scarcity. Loss of employment and reduction in income of the households are the economic challenges of drought and are perceived to a very high extent. The other social impacts which were also perceived to very high extent include population migration in search of employment and better living conditions, poor health condition; schooling of children and food security, malnutrition and conflicts over scarce water resources among others. The environmental impacts such as increase in average atmospheric temperature, pasture and forest degradation, deterioration of water quality, damage to fish and wild life habitat and ground water depletion were perceived by farmers to high and very high extent. The main adaptation strategies to drought which the farmers employed include: planting drought resistant variety of crops, cross- ridging, irrigation practices, delay farm clearance, application of fertilizer/manure, planting of more trees in the farm, early sowing, and changing of crop calendar among others. Despite the farmers’ experience, commitments to droughts and farming as well as their familiarity with various adaptation and mitigation measures, this was not good enough to curb the menace of drought in the study area. Still, there is need to incorporate modern farming techniques especially in the aspect of irrigation and land holding size, use of machines, improved seeds as well as government intervention in terms of farming incentives and innovation diffusion among farmers. Key words: Sahel, Drought impacts, Drought adaptation, Smallholder Farmers, Environment. 130 International Journal of Advanced Academic Research | Sciences, Technology & Engineering | ISSN: 2488-9849 Vol. 4, Issue 10 (October 2018) Introduction Drought is ranked as the number one natural hazard with greatest negative impact on human livelihood. According to Carvajal (2007) in the human development report, the 2000-2006 periods saw that percentage of droughts have had an increasing tendency in Africa and Asia as well as Europe. Impact of drought on agriculture depends on the state of crops, the duration and amount of water storage during certain effect (Mokhtari, 2005). Drought is an insidious natural hazard which, by nature, developed slowly, and frequently occupying very vast areas and persisting for lengthy periods. It is inevitable part of climate, and it can strike any region in the world, even the humid areas (Kandji et al, 2007). Much of the available literature suggests that the overall impacts of climate change on agriculture especially in the tropics have been highly negative (Maddison et al; 2007 as cited in Rao et al, 2007). The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (Part 1, Article 1, 1994) defines drought as "a naturally occurring phenomenon that exists when precipitation has been significantly below normal recorded levels, causing serious hydrological imbalances that adversely affect land resource production systems". Thus, drought is a creeping phenomenon, characterized by extended periods with rainfall far below average, prolonged periods of dryness, high temperatures, high evapotranspiration demand, very low humidity, and reduced stream flow and reservoir water levels (and in some cases completely dried-up water sources) (Mortimore, 1989). Three major types of drought are generally recognized. These are meteorological drought, agricultural drought and hydrological drought (Olofin, 2014). Meteorological drought occurs when there is a prolonged absence or deficiency or poor distribution of precipitation. Agricultural drought is said to occur when moisture is not sufficiently available at the right time to meet the evapotranspiration demand of crops, vegetation, pastures and other agricultural systems. Hydrological drought occurs when groundwater recharge has declined to such an extent that the water table continues to fall. It is obvious that the three types of drought are characterized by a situation of water deficit (Abaje et al, 2012). Thus, Nigeria features wide-ranging ecological zones, but drought is a phenomenon that affects the country as a whole. The degree of vulnerability however differs, with the dry sub- humid and semi-arid regions in the north, usually referred to as the Sudano-Sahelian zone (which includes the Northern Guinea Savanna), being more vulnerable to drought than the more humid regions in the south. These regions already have low levels of biological productivity, organic matter and aggregate stability. Their vegetation and plant cover are relatively sparse, and soils are relatively more susceptible to accelerated erosion by water and wind. People at risk and at loss in the Sudano-Sahelian region are more than 40 million living within about 25% of the total landmass of Nigeria, constantly under drought and soil erosion threats (Olofin, 2014). Drought and associated famine had occurred in Nigeria in 1883, 1903/1905, 1913/1915, 1923/1924, 1 942/l 944, 1954/l956, 1972/1973, 1982/l983. The major droughts, which are regional and have been established statistically to have a 30-year cycle, are known to have occurred in 1883/1885, 1913/1915, 1942/1944. These 30-year cycle droughts are usually regional and cover the entire Sahel and Sudan climatic belts. The 10- 131 International Journal of Advanced Academic Research | Sciences, Technology & Engineering | ISSN: 2488-9849 Vol. 4, Issue 10 (October 2018) year cycle droughts are usually localized, even in areas lying along the same latitude (Oladipo, 1993). The underlying cause of most droughts can be related to changing weather patterns manifested through the excessive buildup of heat on the earth's surface, meteorological changes which result in a reduction of rainfall, and reduced cloud cover, all of which results in greater evaporation rates. The resultant effects of drought are exacerbated by human activities such as deforestation, overgrazing and poor cropping methods, which reduce water retention of the soil, and improper soil conservation techniques, which lead to soil degradation (Yamusa et al, 2011). Causes of drought in Jigawa state and its environments are related to climate variability and non-availability of surface water resources. In northern Nigeria, the Sahel Zone of Jigawa State in particular, drought can be attributed to failure of the rain- bearing monsoon winds from the Atlantic Ocean to penetrate enough into the region (Oladipo, 1993). The immediate cause of a rainfall shortage may be due to one or more factors including absence of moisture in the atmosphere or large-scale downward movement of air within the atmosphere which suppresses rainfall. Changes in such factors involve changes, regional and global weather and climate. While it may be possible to indicate the immediate cause of a drought in a particular location, it often is not possible to identify an underlying cause. These studies are to understand the rural farming community’s perception of drought, examine the socio-economic and environmental impacts of droughts and to identify and examine the drought coping mechanisms in place by individual households in the area. Materials and Methods The Study Area The Sahelian zone of Jigawa State occupies almost one-third of the total land area of the state (North-East of Jigawa State). It comprises ten local government areas; Maigatari, Gumel, Gagarawa, Auyo, Kaugama, Hadejia, Guri, Kiri-kasamma, Birniwa and MallamMadori local government areas. The climate is semi-arid characterized by long dry season and short wet season with average annual rainfall of about 500 mm (Abaje et al, 2012a&b) which falls between May and September. The north-east parts of the study area have been drained by river Hadejia which gives opportunity for irrigation. The study area is covered by regosols and brown soils, ferruginous tropical soils which are heavily weathered and markedly laterized (Oladipo 1993a; FRN, 2000) and the vegetation is Sahel Savanna type. The study area has about 1.5 Million people, and about 80% of households derive their income from farming, including animal husbandry (Sanusi, 2013). Figure 1. Shows the Map of Jigawa State with study area in Pink Colour. 132 International Journal of Advanced Academic Research | Sciences, Technology & Engineering | ISSN: 2488-9849 Vol. 4, Issue 10 (October 2018) Figure: 1 Map of Jigawa State, Showing the Study Area in Pink Colour. Source: Field Survey, 2015 Figure 2: Map of Jigawa State Showing local